So much food waste, so little recycling in Singapore [News]

Singapore produced enough food waste last year to fill 600 Olympic- size swimming pools, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).

The amount soared to 703,200 tonnes last year, a 26 per cent rise from 558,900 tonnes in 2007, outpacing the 15.7 per cent growth in population during the period.

The food recycling rate, however, slowed to 12 per cent last year from 16 per cent in 2010.

This situation is unlikely to improve in the immediate future, experts say. Scarcity of agricultural land that utilises compost, costs of food recycling and cultural considerations such as halal guidelines pose challenges to food waste solutions, they add.